Air pumps and valves therefor



Oct. 13,1959 |.ROTWE|N 2,998,109

AIR PUMPS AND VALVES THEREFOR Filed July 18. 1956 l mum INVENTOR IRVING ROTWEIN BYMQ ATTORNEY 2,908,109 7 AIR PUMPS AND VALVES THEREFOR Rotwein, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor to Packard Container Corp., Hoboken, NJ., a corporation of New Jersey Application July 18, 1956, Serial No. 598,626

' 2 Claims. (Cl. 46-90) The present invention relates to fluid pumps generally and, more particularly, to hand operated air pumps that are adapted for inflating toy balloons and other similar inflatable objects.

Inflated toy balloons, be they of difierent colors and/ or configurations, have been a standard source of amusement for young and old alike for generations past. However, the amusement aflForded by such devices has always been tempered to greater or lesser extent by the problem of inflating them to their desired dimensions. Thus, to do so by the time honored practice of blowing them up by mouth has/always been a tedious chore that becomes an absolute trial when a number of balloons are to be inflated, such as at parties, parades, nightclubs, etc. Furthermore, blowing'up such balloons .by mouth may. easily involve unsanitary conditions since the balloons arealmost invariably handled by others. Also, in the case of small children particularly, the balloons are often transferred from one child to the other with the greatly increased possibility for the transfer of germs. In addition, in the hands of a child attempting to inflate a balloon by mouth, the blowing becomes an' immediate hazard since there is always a possibility that, in his eagerness, a child may draw the balloon into his throat uponi inhalation preparatory to blowing.

Overan extended period of time, numerous attempts have been made to obviate or reduce the above and other dangers and disadvantages inherent in the practice.,of inflating balloons by mouth.' One of these attempts has been to provide cylinders of pressurized gas equipped with valved nozzles over which the necks of balloons may be drawn and held in such position while the valve is manipulated to permit the pressurized gas to pass into the balloon in the desired amount. The use of such cylinders of pressurized gas, in both initial cost and replenishment thereof, involves great expense as Well as the added danger of explosion, and, at best, has solved only the problem of inflating balloons as a commercial enterprize such as at parties, circuses and other places of amusement where the gas inflated balloons are sold at comparatively high prices per unit.

Prior attempts have also been made to obviate the disadvantages inherent in inflating balloons by mouth by the production of various types of hand operated air pumps intended for use by the ultimate user of the balloons. These have been 'made of paper, plastics, metal, Wood and various combinations thereof. However, all such attempts heretofore have not been completely successful for the various reasons of inefliciency of the pumps due to faulty valve or other structure, comparative 'costliness' thereof because of materials used and/or problems of manufacture of parts and assemblage thereof, and/ or lack of durability under the conditions of use that are to be expected in connection with articles of this nature. In addition to the foregoing, another disadvantage of the prior art hand pumps has been that the necks of the balloons have to be pulled and worked onto the nozzles provided on the pumps, often have to be held thereon during the pumping operation (an awkward situation since two hands are needed for proper operation of the pumps), and finally have to be pulled and worked ofi the nozzle-all with lossof time and risk of tearing of the balloon H With the foregoing disadvantages of the prior art-practices and devices in mind, it is a primary object of this invention to provide an improved hand pump that is particularly useful for inflating balloons and similar inflatable objects.

It is another primary object of this invention to provide a fluid pump that is eflicient in operation and durable under the conditions of expected use.

Another object of the invention is to providea fluid pump construction that is adaptable to mass production methods because of its comparative simplicity of structure and reduced cost of the materials necessary and of assembly thereof with the end result of providing an economical and highly practical device.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a novel valve structure for such fluid pumps that is amenable to the aforesaid mass production methods and its well known concomitant advantages.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a valve structure that is inherently peculiarly adapted to receive easily the neck of balloons and keep them in position automatically during the inflatingoperation."

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a single valve structure adaptable for use at both the in"- take and outlet ends of the pump by reversal of position of parts of the same valve structure to result in increased efficiency of pumping capacity while minimiz-' ing the cost increase, since no additional stampings or diflerent operations of assemblage at inlet and outlet ends are necessary.

Another object of the present invention is to provide various alternate structures for the inlet valvethat are: adaptable for use with the preferred form of the outlet valve of the present invention at a saving of material cost.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention'resides in the novel arrangement and combination of parts and in the details after described and claimed, it

tion herein described may be made within the scope of What is claimed Without departing from the spirit 'of the invention. It will be further understood that my invention is susceptible of embodiment in many and various forms, some of which are illustrated in the accom-' panying drawings, and that the structural details and modes of assembly herein set forth tive concept.

The invention will be more clearly understood from a consideration of the following description taken incon nection with the accompanying drawings that form a" part of this specification. In such drawings, wherein like numerals identify like parts in the several embodiments and views thereof;

Figure l is a side elevation of one embodiment of the.

to show more clearly the relationship of the elements thereof;

of construction herein being understood that" changes in the various precise embodiments of the inven may be varied to suit particular purposes and still remain within my inven of the valve element during Figure? is' a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the valve structure shown in Figure 1 but with the neck and ring of a balloon shown in operative relationship therewith and the valve element in the position taken during the pumping stroke to show the relationship :of the various cooperating parts under conditions of use;

.Figure 4;is a :side elevational view, with a part section removed, of the left hand fragment as viewed in Fig. 1, of another air pump provided, in this case, with one embodiment of an inlet valve in accordance with the invention;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view with a large section removed, of the left hand fragment of an air pump somewhat similar to that of Figure 4, but with another embodiment of inlet valve structure disclosed;

Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of the valve structure shown in Figure 5 with a section of the cup broken away to show the apertures therein;

Figure 7 is a side elevational view with a part section removed of still another embodiment of the inlet valve structure provided for an air pump;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the valve disk shovvn prior to assemblage with the inlet valve structure of Figure 7 to show the flap valve arrangement and relationship of the valve disk periphery thereto; and

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the end closure for an air pump integrally provided with the flap valve structure as a modification of the two part assembly shown in Figure 7.

Referring now to shown during the intake stroke, comprises a first cylindrical casing '10 and a second cylindrical casing -12 of slightly smaller diameter telescopingly fitted in the first casing 10 to permit reciprocal movement therein. Both casingsv 10 and 12 are preferably made of helically wound paper but may be constructed of any other suitable material. The cylindrical casing 12 has an end closure Figure 1, the novel hand pump,

. centered as previously cap 13, preferably of metal for ease of assembly, such as by crimping inturned continuous flange 15 thereof into clamping engagement with the end surfaces of paper cylinder 12 against the inner surface of out-turned continuous edge 14 to which flange 15 is attached. The cylindrical casing 10 has the opposite end thereof closed by the outlet 'Valve structure housing 16 that is the preferred embodiment of the invention.

The valve structure 16 comprises a cup 18, preferably of metal, that has a diameter substantially that of the inner diameter of the cylindrical casing '10 and has the cylindrical side 20 thereof wedged within the inner diameter of the cylindrical casing 10. Cylindrical side 20 has an out-turned flange 21 for abutment with the edge of casing 10. An aperture 19 is located substantially off the center of the circular surface of the cup 20 for a purpose that will appear presently.

Closing the open end of the cup 18 to form therewith the valve housing 16 is a closure cap 22 that is fastened to the cylinder 10 by means of crimping of flange 24 thereon at 25 whereby the edge of casing 10 and the flange 21 are clamped together between the flange 24 and the side 20 of cup '18. The cap member 22 is provided at substantially the center thereof with an aperture 23 that, as best seen in Fig. 3, has a diameter that is substantially equal to or slightly smaller than that of the neck 30 of a toy balloon 28 and definitely smaller than the diameter of the usual ring 32 afiixed to the neck 30 of the balloon 28.

Housed within the space defined between'the cup 18 and the cap 22 is a floating disk 26, preferably of paper, that 'has a diameter just slightly smaller than the internal.

diameter of the side 20 of cup 18 to permit axial movement therein. Floating disk 26 has an aperture 27 substantially in the center thereof and preferably of a diameter substantially that of aperture 23 in cap 22.

' In the operation of the device, the neck 30 of balloon 28 is inserted into the aperture 23 in cap 22 so thatthe 32 thereof is located behind the inner surface of cap 22 whereby the balloon 28 is held in proper position for the inflating operation, as shown in Figure 3. After the balloon has been afiixed to the air pump as just described, the operator merely holds the cylinder 10 in one hand and, grasping the cylinder 12 in the other hand pulls the cylinder 12 outwardly (in the direction of the arrow a in Figure 1) so that the space .17 defined by the cylinder 10 and 12 increases. The reduced air pressure thus obtaining momentarily inspace 17 communicates with the space on the left hand side, as viewed in Figure 1, of floating disk 26 in valve housing 16, whereby the disk 26 is urged to the left into the obturating relationship with aperture 19 in cup 18 as shown in Fig. 1. As the cylinder 12 continues to be withdrawn from cylinder 10 in the direction of arrow a, air flows "between the outer surface of cylinder 12 and the inner surface of cylinder 10 from atmosphere in the direction of the arrows B and into space 17.

In the pumping stroke, the cylinder 12 is urged in the direction to the right "as viewed in Figure l and indicated by arrow 0 to reduce space 17 and thereby increase the air pressure therein. This pressure, transmitted via aperture 119 against the left hand surface of floating disk 26, as viewed in Figure 1, causes that disk to move in the direction to the right and into abutting relationship with the ring 32 of the balloon 28 as shown in Figure 3. In such position, aperture 27 in disk 26, being substantially described, is insubstantial alignment with substantially centered aperture 23 of cap 22 and, accordingly, with neck 30 of balloon 28 so that unobstructed passage of pressured air from the left hand side of the disk 26' into the balloon 28 via neck 30 larger diameter ring results. As will be apparent, the reciprocation of cylindrical casing 12 in casing 10 is continued until the desired degree of inflation of balloon 28 is accomplished. Thereafter, balloon 28 is removed from the air pump by pulling ring 32 of balloon 28 from aperture 23 and the air pump is ready to accommodate the next balloon to be inflated.

While, during the pumping stroke, there will be some leakage of air out of the space 17 via the small space between the telescoping cylinders 10 and 12 in the direction opposite that indicated by the two arrows b in Fig. 1, the loss is insignificant and is made .the more so when the pumping stroke is made rapidly as will be readily understood.

In the preferred form of the device shown in Fig. 1, the cylinder 12 is chosen to be of a length greater than that of cylinder '10 to assure that even in the extreme possible) the edge of cylinder 12 will .abut cup 18 (which thus acts as a limiting stop) while an adequate portion of cylinder a handle that is accessible in any relative positions of cylinders -10;and 12. It will be seen that the effect of disk '26 can only be to pass air into the balloon or other inflatable object with which the pump is used, and not to permit air to flow in the opposite direction through aperture 19 back into space 17.

In another embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 4 wherein the primed numerals designate elements similar to those indicated by the same numerals in Figures 1 to 3, a more efficient apparatus is disclosed wherein, for the filling of space 17' at the time of the withdrawal stroke of cylinder '12,.reliance1is not put upon leakage of air between the cylinders l10and :12 as in the embodiment disclosed in Figures 1 to 3. Instead,

there is substitutcdfor the cap 14 in Figure 1 an inlet- '12 still protrudes from .cylinder' 10 to form means of its flange 24' over the flange 21 of side 20 of cup 18 and the edge of a cylindrical casing 12' to form a valve chamber. In this case, however, the aperture 19' in cup 1-8 is substantially centrally located instead of being off-center as is aperture 19 in the outlet valve assembly '16, while the aperture 23' in closure cap 22 is substantially off-center rather than centrally located as in closure cap 22 of Figures 1 to 3, inclusive. On the other hand, as before, there is located within the valve assembly 16', a floating disk 26' that has a central aperture 27 that is therefore in alignment with the aperture 19' of cup 18', in this case.

In order to permit the use of valve assemblies 16 and 16' that are of the same dimensions so that the same stampings may be used for cups 20 and 20' of assemblies 16 and .16, respectively, while the same stampings may be used for closure cups 22 and 22', respectively, except that the aperture positions are reversed in the cups and caps as just explained, casing 12' is foreshortened as shown and fixedly mounted on a clyindrical casing 52 of smaller diameter that telescopingly fits within a cylindrical casing (not shown) similar to casing '10 in which valve assembly 16 is mounted as in Figures 1 to 3, inclusive.

In Figure 4, the disk 2-6 is shown in the position it takes on the pressure stroke of casing 12, '52 in the direction of the arrow c. The increased pressure in space 17' communicates via aperture 19' with the right hand surface of disk 26' to urge it into the position shown, whereby the left hand surface of disk 26 effectively seals aperture 19' from connection with the atmosphere. In this arrangement, the sliding fit between the cylinders '52 and may be chosen to have very small tolerances to minimize leakage therethrough as much as possible, particularly during the pumping stroke.

It will be apparent that in the loading stroke; i.e., when casing 12, 52' is pulled in the direction of arrow at, reduced pressure in space 17 will result in disk 26 moving to the right to uncover aperture 23' in closure 22' and into abutment with cup 18' withapertures 27 and 19' in alignment, whereby atmospheric air flows into space '17. Reciprocation of casing 12, 52 in casing 10 will cause the movements of disk 26 to recur as will be understood.

In Figure 5 there is shown another embodiment of an inlet valve structure that may be substituted for the inlet valve structure shown in Figure 4. In this particular assembly 16 the cup 18" has the usual side 20" and flange 21 thereon, but instead of a single centered aperture as in the embodiment of Figure 4, has at least two off-center apertures 19". The disk closure member 22", in this case, has a centered aperture 23" instead of ofl-center as in Fig. 4.

Housed within the valve casing 16 is a disk 26" which, in this case, is of a diameter substantially less than the diameter of the valve casing 16" but greater than half of such diameter. The disk 26', furthermore, is imperforate.

The operation of the inlet valve of Figure 5 is as follows: During the loading stroke when cylinder 12" is pulled towards the left in the direction of arrow a, increasing of space 17" and resultant reduction of pressure therein causes disk 26" to move towards the right in the valve chamber =16" to the position shown in Figure 5. Due to the small diameter of disk 26" and the off-center positions of the two apertures 19 it will be clear that no more than one of these apertures 19" may be closed by disk 26" at any time, as in the present instance. Air under atmospheric pressure will thus flow via aperture 23" in disk 2 past the disk 26" at least through the unobturated aperture 19 and into space 17". In the pumping stroke, when cylinder 12", is moved towards the right in the direction of arrow c, reduction of space 17 with concomitant increase in pressure that communicates with the inside of valve structure 116" via apertures 19 will cause disk 26 to-move against the inner surface of cap 22 whereby aperture 23 therein will be efiectively closed against communication with atmosphere. The resulting build-up of pressure in space 17 will then be communicated with the inflatable object via the valve structure '16 in cylinder '10 as already described in detail with respect to that structure disclosed in Figures 1, 2 and 3.

Another embodiment of the inlet valve structure is disclosed in Figures 7 and 8 wherein a disk closure 22" having a central aperture 19 is fixed to the open end of cylindrical casing 12" by means of a flange 24", as in the cases of the embodiments disclosed in Figures 4 and 5. However, in this case, as is more readily apparent from Figure 7, the diameter of cylinder 112" is chosen to be greater than that of cylinder "10" for reasons that will become apparent hereinafter.

In the construction illustrated in Figures 7 and 8,- the cup element comparable to the structure 18' and 18" of the previous embodiments of the inlet valve structure is omitted so that no distinct valve chamber is provided. Instead, as indicated in Figure 7-, there is substituted a fixed disk 46, preferably of paper or of some other relatively stiff but deformable material. The disk 46, when in assembled relationship as shown in Figure 7 has sides 33" wedged within the inner diameter of cylinder 12". Centrally of the disk 26 there is previously provided a circular incision 19" that is not complete whereby there is provided a flap valve portion 26" connected to the main body of the disk 46 by means of a narrow tab 31". The narrow tab functions as a hinge for flap valve 26" so that when the cylinder 12" is withdrawn from cylinder 10" in the direction of the arrow a in Figure 7, the increased space 17" and, therefore, the reduced pressure therein will result in atmospheric pressure via aperture 23" in cap 22' topush open flap 26 on its hinge tab 31 as disclosed in Figure 7. It will be readily apparent now that movement of the cylinder 12" in the direction of arrow 0, i.e., in the pumping stroke, will result in effective sealing of aperture 23" by flap 26" as it swings to the left on hinge tab 31" as viewed in Fig. 7.

An eflective mode of assembly for the structure of Figure 7 will now be described. A cap 22" is first applied to cylinder 12" by means of crirnped flange 24", 25". There is then inserted into the open end of cylinder 12" the disk 46, which, as seen in Figure 8 has the edge 33" thereof previously upturned by a prepress operation well known in the art and the flap valve 26 previously provided therefore in the manner already described above. Subsequently, the open end of smaller diameter cylinder 10 is placed against disk 46 positioned in the open end, of cylinder 12" and then pushed home into telescopic relationship with cylinder 12" of larger diameter so that disk 46 is forced into the position shown in Figure 7 with upturned edge 33' wedged as shown to hold the disk 46 in operative position thereafter.

It will be understood that, in this case, cylinder 10" in addition to being of smaller diameter than cylinder 12" is also preferably longer so that, after permitting the ramming function just described, it is also provided that there is always a sufiicient portion of cylinder 10" extending out of cylinder 12" that may be grasped in one hand of the operator while cylinder 12" is worked reciprocally with the other hand to perform the pumping operation.

A variation of the inlet valve modification illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 is shown in Figure 9. As shown in the latter figure, the valve comprises only a closure cap 22"" having the usual flange 24"" to permit crimping assembly with a cylindrical casing as previously described for the various other embodiments. In accordance with this embodiment, an incision 23"" is cut directly into the metal of cap 22" to the extent shown whereas increased pressure in for the disc 46 of Figure 8, so thatwa flap valve portion 26 is left attached to the body of cap 22"" by means of hinge tab 31"". -The incision 23"" is preferably performed by asharp instrument so that there is such a minimal amount of clearance between the edges of the incision 23" and of flap valve 26" that the burrs thereon function to check movement of the latter through the former. After or during the cutting operation, flap valve 26"" is pressed only very slightly inwardly as viewed in Fig. 8 to clear engagement of the burrs. Fig. 8 shows the flap valve 26 pushed in, for purposes of illustration, to much greater extent than would be operable in most cases. Thenceforth, upon reduced pressure in the cylinder to which cap 22" is attached air permits flow past inwardly flexed flap -valve26"" the cylinder causes flap valve 26"" to move to closed position in incision 23" with the burrs preventing any movement of flap valve 26"" further than the aforesaid closed position.

I claim:

1. In combination, a toy balloon having a filling neck portion and an end ring mounted on said neck portion; and a fluid pump comprising a valve assembly, said valve assembly comprising a housing formed of a pair of spaced apart wall member disks connected at their peripheries by a continuous circular web, one of said wall member disks having a singleaperture circular in cross-section centrally thereof having a dimension that is substantially equal to that of said neck portion of said toy balloon and smaller than the diameter of said end ring thereof, the other of said wall members having an aperture that is not in alignment with the single central aperture of said one wall member, and a freely movable disk diaphragm disposed in said housing between said wall member disks and having a single centrally located aperture that is in alignment with the single central aperture of said one wall member disk, said freely moving disk diaphragm having a diameter substantially that of the interior periphery of said continuous web whereby substantially no lateral movement of said diaphragm may occur, said disk diaphragm being movable substantially axially to a first position against said other well member in obturating relationship with the aperture therein, and substantially axially to a second position away from said other wall member and in contact with said end ring of said toy balloon in non-obturating relationship with said filling neck of said toy balloon.

.2. The combination as claimed in claim 1 wherein said one wall member disk and said continuous circular web are integral and the periphery of said other wall member disk is flanged over the edge of said continuous circular Web that is remote from said one wall member disk to substantially seal said housing in which said freely movable disk diaphragm is disposed except for said apertures in said Wall member disks.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

